


Stand Up and Fight

by Gir_Hugs



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Character Study, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-08
Updated: 2013-11-08
Packaged: 2017-12-31 20:42:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1036152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gir_Hugs/pseuds/Gir_Hugs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chuck has been fighting longer than he hasn’t.  Chuck fights because that’s all he <i>knows</i>.</p><p>(...Or...my headcanon for why Stacker was such a jerk to Chuck right before the final mission.  Because I will never be okay with what Stacker said to Chuck unless there was an acceptable reason for it - and no, 'because chuck is an asshole and he deserved it' is <i>NOT</i> an acceptable reason.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stand Up and Fight

As Stacker told Raleigh, he is a fixed point.  He does not need to be liked; his _only_ purpose is to make sure they win this war, end this apocalypse.  So while it might have been _kinder_ to tell Chuck that they’ll be drift compatible because he trusts in Chuck’s abilities as a pilot, kindness is not what Chuck needs.  Kindness is not something Chuck understands.

 

Life has been a cruel bitch to…well, to pretty much everyone.  And while some people handle hardships with steady calm and others tuck tail and run, Chuck is the type to stand up and _fight_.  Chuck is his father’s son.  He’s a soldier, through and through.  Has been since the tender age of twelve when he enrolled at the Academy.  But his fight truly began years prior when his mother became a tragic but necessary sacrifice to Kaiju destruction.

 

Chuck has been fighting longer than he hasn’t.  Chuck fights because that’s all he _knows_.

 

Chuck Hansen is an angry kid that was never taught when to shut his mouth or when to admit defeat.  But he is also a good man, a good soldier, a young man desperate to be a good son.  Chuck is a fighter. And Stacker _knows_ that.

 

So while Chuck does have his redeemable qualities – masked by layers upon layers of anger and cockiness – pointing them out now will serve no purpose.  Stacker’s job is to make sure his people are performing at their best.  And Chuck will never perform better than when he’s given something to fight and rage against. 

 

“You’re an egotistical jerk with daddy issues.”  Stacker throws down the gauntlet. “A simple puzzle I solved on day one.”  Pretends he is less than impressed with everything this young man has fought to accomplish.  “But you are your father’s son, so we’ll drift just fine.”  Dares the kid to – _prove me wrong_ – be more than just a shadow of his father.

 

He gives Chuck what he needs, a fight.

 

And Chuck just flashes his teeth, quick and sharp.  "Works for me."

**Author's Note:**

> When I finally sat down to watch Pacific Rim, I was not expecting to find a character to vomit _feels_ all over. Damn you, Chuck! (But don't worry, Mr. Stark, you will always be the first 'egotistical jerk with daddy issues' I fell in love with)


End file.
